


A Little Chaos

by Gumnut



Series: Warm Rain [13]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Action/Adventure, Conversations, Damsels in Distress, Eavesdropping, F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-01 14:07:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18801865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gumnut/pseuds/Gumnut
Summary: A little conversation in less than optimal conditions.Warning for creepy scene with sexual connotations in Chapter Three.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title: A Little Chaos  
> Part 1  
> Author: Gumnut  
> May 2019  
> Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS  
> Rating: Teen  
> Summary: A little conversation in less than optimal conditions.  
> Word count: 1976  
> Spoilers & warnings: Virgil/Kayo, Scott/Em. Warning for creepy scene with sexual connotations in Chapter Three.  
> Timeline: Sometime after ‘Gentle Rain’  
> Author’s note: Yeah, I should be writing ‘The Bellini Incident’, but this was supposed to be a quick fic, but then so was Bellini. This one will not be anywhere near as long and I will be back to Bellini asap.
> 
> The prompt: From a series of OC prompts. Kylorr asked for 5. Have they ever cheated on anyone before? And 7. How many partners have they had? I don’t know if I’m going to answer either of them, but this is the fic that happened. I hope you enjoy it :D  
> Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

“So how long have you known Virgil?”

Kayo blinked and a frown wandered across her face. Em didn’t react in any way, focussed on maintaining the pressure on the other woman’s arm.

“Wh-why do you want to know?” Another blink.

Em shrugged. “Friendly curiosity? I’m interested? You are my friends and there is a lot I don’t know about you, I guess.”

“Not in the habit of sharing.”

“I noticed.”

She fell silent and Em went back to automatically scanning the room for anything that could help them and yet again came up with nothing. Em was faced with the possibility that she had never been so angry in her life.

She had finally managed to drag Kayo out for a girl’s day out. It wasn’t just for Kayo, it was for Em as well. It had taken all the persuasion in the world to entice her friend to come with her, and she had her suspicions that it was a word from Virgil that had tipped the scales, rather than anything Em had begged. But finally the both of them had made it a date and hit Wellington for a day at the shops.

Em knew that Kayo, despite her bravado and tough exterior, did have a liking for simple summer dresses, so they had started in a department store.

Unfortunately.

What were the chances? Really? They hadn’t even looked at a single dress when gun shots started firing over their heads. A woman not three metres to their left had gone down without a sound.

Em reacted immediately, gunning her hoverjets in her direction. She only had a moment to catch her lifeless gaze before Kayo threw her sideways, tipping her off her ‘jets and to the ground.

“Stay down!” Her whisper was harsh.

There was yelling. Male voices. More gunshots.

And then they were crawling. Or more Kayo was dragging Em, as her hoverscoot was useless at that angle. They found cover in the form of a storage closet.

Em discovered Kayo had a bullet in her left arm. Part of Em’s dress took the role of a pressure bandage and they found themselves stuck. Every now and again there would be another gunshot fired or a scream. Voices. Yelling. They had no idea and no real way of finding out what the hell was going on.

Didn’t stop either of them from contacting John.

“You’re what?!”

Some firm whispers and they were transferred to Tracy Island.

“You’re what?!”

“I’m sorry, Scott.” It was all she got out before Kayo threw a report at the man.

“We’re on our way. John is speaking with the GDF and local police. We will get you out of there.” His voice was fierce.

Em’s breath hitched. “You stay safe, Scott. You hear me?”

A pause. “You do the same.”

“I plan to. We both do.” She bit her lip. “Don’t do anything stupid, flyboy.”

“No promises.” And he was gone.

Em swore.

Kayo stared at her.

“What?”

“He’s not stupid.”

Em bit her tongue and held back answering what Virgil might be capable of doing with Kayo in danger. “I know. He just occasionally does stupid things.”

Her friend thought about it a moment. “Yes, yes he does.”

So here they were stuck.

“Eight. I was eight.”

Em blinked and it took her a moment to register that Kayo was answering her question. Her friend wasn’t looking at her. Apparently her own hands were more interesting.

“My...uncle was causing...difficulties for my father. There was an incident and it was thought best that I stay with the Tracys for a while. That while lasted a long time.”

“So you grew up with them?”

“For the most part. They’re my brothers.”

“But not Virgil.”

To Em’s surprise, a small smile curved her friend’s lips. “No, not Virgil.”

“When did you realise?”

A pair of green eyes stared at her for a moment as if assessing her. They blinked as if coming to a decision and Kayo grinned. “Would you believe while he was working out on the pool deck?”

It was Em’s turn to blink. “Really?”

Kayo looked away, but the smile stayed on her face. “He was injured falling from a train and was stuck home recovering. He hates rehab.” She sighed. “Always overdoes it. He had grazed his back so couldn’t wear his shirt. I guess I found myself enjoying the view more than I should have.”

Em couldn’t help it, she strangled a laugh.

“You can laugh, but trust me finding your brother attractive is a confronting proposition.”

“So what happened?”

Kayo didn’t answer immediately and for a moment Em thought she had stretched the confidence too far.

“He kissed me. I went on a mission, was captured, Scott, Virgil and Gordon instigated an international incident to rescue me, Virgil was shot, nearly died, and I guess I realised that...it was mutual.”

Em stared at her. “The two bullet wounds in his back.”

“Yes, those would be the ones.”

“Bloody hell.”

“Yes.”

They fell silent again, Em rolling those thoughts around in her head.

“What about you?”

“Huh?”

“When did you realise it was mutual?”

“Oh, uh, Scott just...” A self conscious grin. “There was something about him from day one. He is the great commander of the legendary International Rescue.” She let out a half a laugh. “But he isn’t that. Just a man like any other. I think it was that fact that attracted me the most. He, uh, cares, you know? Cares so much about his family, the world...” She looked down at her hands holding her friend’s arm. “Do you have any idea how rare that is?” Kayo blinked at her. “So few people nowadays care beyond themselves, beyond their core family, beyond what they can get out of the world. Scott just cares so much, it hurts.” She looked away. “All the Tracy brothers do. And I...couldn’t help myself. Heh, never expected him to return it. I wouldn’t call myself the greatest catch.”

“Hey, that’s crap and you know it.”

Em blinked. “Okay, let’s just say I’m not the obvious choice for a strong, active and healthy man such as Scott Tracy. Look at me, I’m half a woman, Kayo. I slow him down.”

Kayo grabbed her with her good hand. “No, that is bullshit, Em. So, you have a hoverscoot instead of legs? Big deal. The man would have to be blind not to be attracted to you. Scott Tracy, believe it or not, is a brain man. He needs a mind that can meet his head on, and you’ve got it.”

Em could help but smirk. “So I take it, you approve?”

“Hell, yes. That man has needed taming for years.”

“And Virgil? Does he need taming?”

Kayo’s lips curled up at the corners, but she didn’t answer.

They fell silent for a moment, listening beyond the door for any sounds that could identify what the gunmen were doing. It was silent.

“Is Virgil your first...boyfriend?”

Kayo eyed her. “Is this Distraction 101 or Get to know your Friend: The Interrogative Edition?”

“A bit of both. You don’t have to answer. I’m just curious. I have no doubt you know everything about my relationship history as well as everything else. It can’t hurt to level the playing field a little, can it?”

“Are we playing?”

“We’re friends aren’t we? Just a little bit of casual convo.”

Kayo eyed her. “Casual ‘convo’, huh?”

“Yes, between friends. Emphasis on the word ‘friends’.”

Kayo stared at the wall a moment, her face blank, before turning back to Em. “First serious relationship. Not my first sexual encounter.”

“Okay.”

“Anything else you would like to know?” It sounded cold, but Em had the feeling it wasn’t really. Kayo wouldn’t share if she didn’t want to, Em had no doubts about that.

“Why Virgil?”

Kayo blinked at her.

“Out of all five brothers and every other person on this planet, why Virgil?”

Kayo continued to stare at her.

“You don’t have to answer...”

“No. I just thought the answer was obvious. He’s Virgil.”

“Really? Nothing in particular? You two are very different people.”

The other woman pinned her with her eyes. “As are you and Scott. Do you have a favourite aspect  of your ‘flyboy’?”

It was a challenging statement, but Em let it wash over her and smiled. “I like his arms, his hands and those eyes of his are stunning, but I have to say his passionate care attracted me the most. He will do anything for you, for Virgil, for his family. But even more, he will spread his wings to protect strangers. He’s smart, clever, commanding, a damn hero, and I admire him, but he also makes me laugh, and sometimes I need that more than anything else.”

Okay, so perhaps that was more information than had been required. She looked away a tad embarrassed. She could feel Kayo’s eyes on her.

Quiet. Ever so quiet. “Virgil looks after me.”

It was Em’s turn to blink as she looked back at her friend.

“He’s an idiot. A self sacrificing heroic idiot.” Kayo looked down at her bleeding arm again. “An adorable idiot who hates having his hair mussed, who is so dopey before his morning coffee, he has been known to put his shirt on backwards and then wonder why it is hard to button up. He’s ambidextrous at EVERYTHING. He’s a soppy, sentimental, artistic softie who can bench press half the family. And for some reason all of his own, he decided he loved me.” A pause and a half hearted shrug. “He’s Virgil.”

Em let a smile form on her lips. “Yes, he is.”

The quiet fell again and it was uncomfortable as their predicament reared its head again.

“What about you? Is Scott your first?” Kayo was eyeing her with challenge.

“What? I thought you knew everything about me.”

“I know a lot. But fair’s fair. Level playing field.”

Em had the urge to stick her tongue out at her friend. A second thought and she did.

The smirk that resulted was worth it.

“No, Scott is not my first relationship and you damn well know it.”

A shrug. “‘Convo’ to pass the time.”

Em rolled her eyes. “What specifics did you want to know?”

Her friend hesitated a moment and suddenly Em knew exactly what she was going to say before she said it. Her throat tightened. “No. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You don’t know what I’m going to ask.”

“You’re going to ask about Jim.”

Kayo didn’t confirm her suspicions, but that was confirmation in itself.

“Jim is out of the picture. You know that.”

“You were engaged, Em.”

“Yeah, well some things just aren’t meant to be forever.” She looked away, suddenly terrified the tightness in her throat would become something far more embarrassing. “Now who’s doing the interrogating?”

“Em-“

“Just...just leave it, please, Kayo. He broke it off and I don’t blame him. I was no longer the woman he loved and he had every right to call it quits. It’s all in the past and it can bloody well stay there.” A pause and a glance in the other woman’s direction. “Sorry.”

A hand squeezed her arm. “No. I’m the one who should be sorry. I should never have asked.”

Em swallowed and sucked in a breath. “No. No, you can ask. You have the right and I want you to ask. Is part of being friends. Just...not that.”

“Okay.” She could feel those green eyes on her. “But if you ever do want to talk about it, I’m willing to listen.”

Em looked at her sideways. “Okay. Thank-”

The door to their closet was suddenly thrust open. A large, hairy man reeking of half digested garlic blocked the view to the rest of the store.

“Found ya.”

-o-o-o-

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Little Chaos  
> Part 2  
> Author: Gumnut  
> May 2019  
> Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS  
> Rating: Teen  
> Summary: A little conversation in less than optimal conditions.  
> Word count: 1853  
> Spoilers & warnings: Virgil/Kayo, Scott/Em.  
> Timeline: Sometime after ‘Gentle Rain’  
> Author’s note: Yeah, I should be writing ‘The Bellini Incident’, but this was supposed to be a quick fic, but then so was Bellini. This one will not be anywhere near as long and I will be back to Bellini asap.  
> The prompt: From a series of OC prompts. Kylorr asked for 5. Have they ever cheated on anyone before? And 7. How many partners have they had? I don’t know if I’m going to answer either of them, but this is the fic that happened. I hope you enjoy it :D  
> Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

“You’re what?!” He stared at Virgil, who was standing across from him in the sunken lounge. John hovered in the centre.

“I’m sorry, Scott.”

Em’s voice cut into him, but was overridden by Kayo’s professional report.

Virgil’s hands curled into fists at his sides, but he said nothing.

“We’re on our way. John is speaking with the GDF and local police. We will get you out of there.” The thought of the two of them, stuck in a closet with gunmen running around...his own fists clenched.

Em’s breath hitched. “You stay safe, Scott. You hear me?”

A pause. “You do the same.” Please be safe.

“I plan to. We both do. Don’t do anything stupid, flyboy.”

“No promises.” He caught John’s eye and the comms were muted. “Keep that line open, John. I want to hear everything.” He turned to Virgil. Kayo was injured. Not seriously, but he’d have to watch his brother. “You okay to do this?”

The brown gaze that hit him glared. “Stupid question.”

A blink. His brother was right. Stupid question.

“Okay, we’ll go together in Thunderbird Two. John, I need a map of the building, all points of access. See if you can hack into the perpetrators’ communications. Liaise with the GDF. I doubt they will enjoy our presence, but they will just have to put up with it.” A breath. “Thunderbirds are go.”

It wasn’t often Scott rode co-pilot with Virgil and, to be honest, he really wished he could take his ‘bird. He felt naked without her. But this was definitely a job for the green behemoth. They had enough speed to get across the small expanse of ocean between Tracy Island and New Zealand, and Scott had no doubt that Virgil had enough equipment on board to tear the building apart if they needed to.

Didn’t stop Scott from grabbing a couple of jetpacks and extra grapple packs on the way down to his brother’s ‘bird.

It wasn’t until TB2 was spinning in her hanger going through her launch sequence that the expected call from Colonel Casey was transferred down from TB5.

“Scott, what the hell are you doing? This is a local police matter.”

“I’m sorry, Colonel, but International Rescue personnel are trapped in that building and I’m planning on getting them out.”

“How exactly? You are a rescue organisation. An unarmed rescue organisation.” And her glare was furious enough to throw that statement into doubt. “You have no jurisdiction and will do little more than hamper the plans of those who do.” She drew a breath. “Scott, I know Kayo is important.” Her gaze flickered to Virgil, whose determined expression was ignoring her as he taxied his bird onto her launch platform. “But please, leave this to the local authorities.”

“I’m sorry, Colonel. I can’t sit out on this one.” And he doubted he could hold his brother back. “You have my guarantee that we will liaise with the local authorities.”

“Scott-“

But it was at that moment Virgil activated the rear thrusters and the roar and sudden acceleration into the air drowned her out.

“Thunderbird Two out.”

The great ship clawed into the sky, Virgil banking her into a turn as soon as her flight was stable. Neither brother said a thing. Neither felt like talking. Wellington was minutes away.

_“So how long have you known Virgil?”_ Em’s voice echoed through the cabin and it took Scott a split second to remember that he had asked John to keep the line open.

When Kayo answered, Scott couldn’t help but noticed Virgil’s grip tighten on the yoke.

_“Eight. I was eight.”_

It became very apparent, very quickly that they were listening in on a private conversation.

“Scott...we should...” Virgil was frowning.

“I...” He wanted to keep it open to keep tabs on what was happening.

“We should let them know we can hear them.” His brother’s voice was firm.

_“The two bullet wounds in his back.”_ Em’s voice was pained.

Scott swallowed.

“Scott.”

He reached for the comline.

_“What about you?”_

_“Huh?”_

_“When did you realise it was mutual?”_

_“Oh, uh, Scott just...“_

His hand hesitated as Em spilled forth what attracted her to him. At first, he smiled, followed by a flush of heat as Virgil turned and frowned at him.

Then Em said she was only half a woman.

Em...

Kayo’s cutting words beat him to it.

And they were talking about Virgil.

“Scott, this isn’t right.” Virgil’s voice was pained.

“I know.”

“Then do something about it. Or I will.” Virgil reached for the control.

_“First serious relationship. Not my first sexual encounter.”_

His hand froze. “Shit.” It came out between his teeth.

_“Why Virgil?”_

Scott stared at his brother.

_“Out of all five brothers and every other person on this planet, why Virgil? You don’t have to answer...”_

_“No. I just thought the answer was obvious. He’s Virgil.”_

_“Really? Nothing in particular? You two are very different people.”_

_“As are you and Scott. Do you have a favourite aspect of your ‘flyboy’?”_

It was like watching a car crash. He didn’t want to listen, but couldn’t not.

_“I like his arms, his hands and those eyes of his are stunning, but I have to say his passionate care attracted me the most. He will do anything for you, for Virgil, for his family. But even more, he will spread his wings to protect strangers. He’s smart, clever, commanding, a damn hero, and I admire him, but he also makes me laugh, and sometimes I need that more than anything else.”_

As Wellington appeared on the horizon, he turned to look at Virgil. His brother was flushed, his lips thin as he stared out the windscreen, his knuckles white on the yoke.

_“Virgil looks after me.”_

His brother’s eyes closed for a moment.

_“He’s an idiot. A self-sacrificing heroic idiot. An adorable idiot who hates having his hair mussed, who is so dopey before his morning coffee, he has been known to put his shirt on backwards and then wonder why it is hard to button up. He’s ambidextrous at EVERYTHING. He’s a soppy, sentimental, artistic softie who can bench press half the family. And for some reason all of his own, he decided he loved me.”_

_“He’s Virgil.”_

There was no way Scott was going to dare comment on that. Kayo knew his brother. God, she did. If he smiled at all, it was all internal. There was no blood in his brother’s knuckles at all.

“Wellington Air Control, this is Thunderbird Two on approach. Emergency in Wellington central, permission to enter. Situation urgent.” Virgil Tracy, ever the professional, spun off coordinates ignoring the conversation between the two women still echoing through the cockpit.

“Thunderbird Two, Wellington Air Control. Permission granted. International Rescue permit protocol identified and confirmed. The sky is clear, you may proceed.”

“Thank you, Wellington. Will keep advised.”

“Roger, Thunderbird Two.”

Ocean turned into mountains and then houses as the huge plane dipped below the skimpy cloud cover and targeted Wellington’s central business district.

_“No, Scott is not my first relationship and you damn well know it.”_

Scott climbed out of his seat as Virgil kicked in VTOL as he flew between skyscrapers bringing his ‘bird to a hover beside the building entrapping his fiancé.

_“You’re going to ask about Jim.”_

Scott froze.

_“Jim is out of the picture. You know that.”_

_“You were engaged, Em.”_

_“Yeah, well some things just aren’t meant to be forever.”_ A pause _. “Now who’s doing the interrogating?”_

_“Em-“_

_“Just...just leave it, please, Kayo. He broke it off and I don’t blame him. I was no longer the woman he loved and he had every right to call it quits. It’s all in the past and it can bloody well stay there.”_

Jim? Engaged? Em...

“Scott?” Virgil had grabbed his arm.

Blink. “We need to get down there.”

“Two will need to hover. There is nowhere nearby to put her down and I want her within reach.” Virgil hit his comms. “John, could you take Two?”

Their brother confirmed and all the controls flashed into the blue of auto.

A sudden gasp over the comline and Scott spun back to the dash. A male voice. “Found ya.”

Shit.

Virgil didn’t need prompting.

They moved.

-o-o-o-

Em had never seen Kayo move so fast.

The bleeding arm was ripped from her grasp and her friend leapt into a spin, her foot meeting yellow teeth before Em had had a chance to draw in a breath. Her friend followed through with a punch that floored the man.

A moment. Kayo’s chest heaved. Silence.

A click of metal on metal and a gun appeared in the doorway. “My, you are what they say you are.”

Kayo didn’t blink. Her arm came up from below, grabbed the gun and she twisted her body, drawing the weedy man from the shadows. His arm creaked and he snarled.

She slammed his wrist against the doorjamb and followed through with a kick which he caught in his gut, expelling all the air from his lungs.

The gun dropped to the floor.

A wrench and Kayo had his arm behind his back and his face in the carpet. “Who are you?”

Em eyed the gun and reached for it.

A shadow grabbed a fist full of her hair and pulled. The pain was so unexpected, she cried out. The gun was whisked from her sight.

“Now, now, you know you shouldn’t play with guns.”

Her head was bent backwards and she got an eyeful of a dark-haired man wearing a grey suit. His hair was greased back, a stud earring sparkled in one earlobe. His lips were pink and glistened in the fluorescent lighting. They split to form a grin. Teeth far too white to be real and an equally pink tongue running across them.

A split second of sickening horror and Em reacted.

She had no movement below her waist, but her harness extended above that and gave her leverage. She grabbed the fist in her hair with both hands and pivoted just below her ribcage, bringing her hoverscoot up in harsh pendulum into his gut.

Her nails dug into his hand and he yelled.

Momentary freedom as he let go.

Em gunned her hoverjets and darted out of reach, just as Kayo moved in on him, her fist fixing those perfect teeth forever. He stumbled into the wall. Her friend didn’t stop, bringing her foot around to finish the job.

A gun fired.

Em didn’t see where it came from, but there was a splatter of blood on the floor and her friend went down hard.

“Kayo!”

She moved in and came face to face with a smoking barrel.

“Now, do I have to shoot you, too?”

A hard face, blue eyes, blond hair, female. “Quite impressive. Three of my men and you are both still standing.” She eyed Em’s hoverscoot. “In a manner of speaking.” Thinned lips and an arched eyebrow. “Oh well, easy fixed.”

A blur of motion and a fist slammed into the side of Em’s face.

Pain and she blacked out.

-o-o-o-


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Little Chaos  
> Part 3  
> Author: Gumnut  
> May 2019  
> Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS  
> Rating: Teen  
> Summary: A little conversation in less than optimal conditions.  
> Word count: 1506  
> Spoilers & warnings: Virgil/Kayo, Scott/Em. Warning for creepy scene with sexual connotations.  
> Timeline: Sometime after ‘Gentle Rain’  
> Author’s note: Yeah, I should be writing ‘The Bellini Incident’, but this was supposed to be a quick fic, but then so was Bellini. This one will not be anywhere near as long and I will be back to Bellini asap.  
> The prompt: From a series of OC prompts. Kylorr asked for 5. Have they ever cheated on anyone before? And 7. How many partners have they had? I don’t know if I’m going to answer either of them, but this is the fic that happened. I hope you enjoy it :D  
> Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

Wellington Police had the entire block evacuated. The woman in charge did not look impressed as both Scott and Virgil approached.

Scott had nabbed a pod vehicle and flown down. Virgil had his exo-suit on and was seconds away from breaking through the nearest wall. He had piggy-backed the pod on the way down and his expression was fit to melt the visor on his helmet.

“Commander Tracy, this is a unsafe crime scene. I am aware that you have two operatives in the building, but please, you must trust us to defuse the situation.”

“Ma’am, we have equipment that can assist.” He tried to think over the sound of harsh breathing, a whimper from the woman he loved. A man’s voice…

She pinned him with her eyes. “We will follow proven protocol to save lives, Commander. International Rescue has no jurisdiction in this case. Please-“

A gun fired within the building.

And over the comline.

_“Kayo!”_

Virgil moved and Scott reached out to grab him. “Virgil! No!”

“Kay!”

“Virgil!” Scott dug his fingers into his brother’s shoulder and the expression he shot at Scott was one of desperation.

A woman’s voice, threatening Em. God.

The sounds of a scuffle.

“You b-“ Kayo was cut off as the comms screeched, something hitting it hard, and the line went silent.

But only for a moment.

_“Bitch fought like a bloody wildcat.”_

The shoulder under Scott’s fingers heaved.

 _“What did you expect? You knew what we were going up against.”_ The sound of a flesh hitting flesh. _“You’re an over confident moron.”_

_“God, Lou, I did my best.”_

_“Well, your best wasn’t bloody good enough was it? Now she has two holes in her.”_

_“I’m quite happy to give her another one. A more decisive one.”_

_“You’ve killed enough today, Jerry.”_

_“Never enough, Lou.”_

_“They live, Jer, or we don’t get our money. Now, tie up the wildcat and the cripple. Make sure she’s not going to bleed out on us. We need to get moving. Her bloody boyfriend is outside with that damn Thunderbird of his. Move your ass or lose it.”_

Scott was staring at Virgil. The man looked fit to explode. What the hell? This was planned? His teeth clamped together and ground enamel.

“John, give me all the lifesigns in the building.”

His brother didn’t answer, a hologram appearing over Scott’s wrist control without a word. A large proportion of the people in the building were clustered together in the centre on the top floor. Six life signs were off to one side, near the door to the closet the women had been hiding in.

_“I like this one. She’s pretty.”_

Scott’s skin crawled. Only years of experience kept him rooted to the spot. He bit the inside of his cheek and tasted blood.

Em and Kayo were still quite a distance from the main group. “John, can you detect the weapons in the building?”

A series of red dots appeared beside the life signs. Five beside the large group. Four with Em and Kayo. Out the corner of his eye he noticed the police captain frowning at the hologram.

Scott ignored her.

Virgil turned, his gaze fixing on the display. “John, I need a structural readout.”

He definitely wanted to go through a wall. Scott wouldn’t mind joining him.

“We have yet to hear their demands.” The captain had sidled up to them.

“Oh, I don’t think they have any.” Scott pressed his lips together. “They’ve got what they wanted.”

She frowned up at him. “How do you know?”

“Thunderbird Five, relay the last section of overheard conversation to Captain Vona.” The woman blinked as John connected to her headset without missing a beat. Her eyes widened as she heard the criminals’ discussion.

“I need a copy of this for voice recognition analysis.”

“Give it to her, John.”

Her tablet pinged.

She stared at him a moment before punching repeatedly at the screen.

Virgil was still staring at the building’s structure.

Nine armed personnel of unknown skill. Fifteen hostages plus his girlfriend and his sister.

He eyed the layout of the building.

“I have an idea.”

-o-o-o-

Someone was touching her. She frowned and pain shot through her head. She gasped and let out a breath.

“That’s it baby. Does that feel good?”

There was a hand on her belly, creeping up towards her bra line.

She opened her eyes to find Greasy Hair leaning over her, his hand up her skirt.

Oh god, no!

She pulled away, fingers automatically darting to her her palm sensors.

They were gone.

Looking down, her hoverscoot was still attached, but the fingers on her belly were undoing the harness.

Panic rose, she tried to roll away, but found her hands tethered to a pipe.

“Oh, I definitely like you. Your skin is so soft.” His grin was no longer perfect, a swollen face and broken teeth due to Kayo’s fist imprint skewed his expression, making it just that more terrifying as his fingers trailed just under her sports bra. “And you can’t run.”

A click of buckles and velcro and her ‘scoot came away from her body. She couldn’t feel his touch on her stumps, but she whimpered anyway.

“Oh, I like the sound of that. Do it again.” He reached for her.

The wall beside her exploded into the room. A flash of blue, green and yellow and Greasy Hair was grabbed by a familiar claw and lifted bodily away from her. His squawk of fear was suddenly cut off as the claw squeezed, cutting off the man’s breath.

“Em!” And Scott was there. Her Scott. Oh god, her Scott.

His fingers were at her wrists and her hands were free. She grabbed him and clung, her breath coming in short pants.

She discovered she was shaking.

And he was holding her so tight.

Oh god, her Scott.

The room lit up red and it shook her out of her daze for a moment. Virgil, it was Virgil in his exo-suit, had dropped Greasy Man in the corner and was now burning a hole in the wall on the other side of the room.

Beyond the door, there was a sudden roar of VTOL and breaking glass.

Scott untangled himself from her and darted over to secure Greasy Man before he regained his senses.

Virgil kicked the wall in.

A sharp flash of red and someone screamed. A gunshot.

“Virgil!” Scott launched himself towards his brother.

But Virgil did not respond, his step through the hole in the wall, firm and determined. Another bright flash of red and the sound of a something solid hitting the floor. both brothers disappeared through the hole in the wall.

Em inched over to her hoverscoot which lay discarded and now covered in dust. There was no sign of her palm sensors.

Shit.

Screw it. She’d do this the old fashioned way.

Putting one hand in front of the other, she dragged herself across the room. She didn’t know where Kayo was, but chances were Virgil did, and last she saw of her friend, she was in need of medical attention.

She couldn’t feel the masonry rubble beneath her stumps, but it bit into her hands. She still had her closed-end leggings on. The…bastard…hadn’t got far enough to take them off her. Her stomach knotted. She shook herself. Focus now.

Fall apart later.

Peering through the hole Virgil had made, she found Garlic Breath and Weedy Man on the floor. Weedy Man was sporting burns to his hands. The burnt remains of their firearms lay beside them.

Scott and Virgil were on the other side of the larger room. Virgil had shed the arms of his suit in order to gather up an unconscious Kayo. She couldn’t quite make out the quiet words his lips were forming.

Em opened her mouth to call out, just as the door to the room flung inwards and open. The blond woman from before charged in.

Her back was to Em, and her gun pointed at the two men on the other side of the room.

She hadn’t seen the doctor, and as she aimed, Em took advantage.

Using everything she had, She pushed herself forward with one arm and grabbed the woman about the legs with the other.

They both went down.

“You bitch!”

Em had a split second of barrel in her face before a whirlwind of blue and grey disappeared the gun and grabbed her, pulling her away from the woman on the floor. A snap of bone, a thud and the woman was out cold.

Em’s vision was suddenly full of his gorgeous blue eyes. “Are you okay?”

He was holding her so tight, so strong. She allowed herself a second to feel his safety, closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. “I need to see to Kayo.”

He swallowed, blinked, and, without a further word, carried her over to his brother and his fiancee. She didn’t fail to realise he was shaking almost as much as she.

-o-o-o-


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Little Chaos  
> Part 4  
> Author: Gumnut  
> May 2019  
> Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS  
> Rating: Teen  
> Summary: A little conversation in less than optimal conditions.  
> Word count: 2595  
> Spoilers & warnings: Virgil/Kayo, Scott/Em.  
> Timeline: Sometime after ‘Gentle Rain’  
> Author’s note: Yeah, I should be writing ‘The Bellini Incident’, but this was supposed to be a quick fic, but then so was Bellini. This one will not be anywhere near as long and I will be back to Bellini asap.  
> The prompt: From a series of OC prompts. Kylorr asked for 5. Have they ever cheated on anyone before? And 7. How many partners have they had? I don’t know if I’m going to answer either of them, but this is the fic that happened. I hope you enjoy it :D  
> Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

Virgil Tracy could be considered a calm man and it was how he appeared to the world. Calm had its advantages. It kept his mind clear. It enabled him to plan, to save, to break up the arguments between his brothers, to keep in control.

But the truth was far from appearances. Virgil Tracy kept himself calm on purpose, because he couldn’t afford to be anything else. Emotion was a powerful thing. He could channel it into his music, into his art, but out of control it was dangerous.

And so was he.

Virgil Tracy felt with an intensity of the sun. When he loved, he loved with everything he had. When he angered, landslides had less momentum. So calm was safety. Calm was control.

Until that control cracked.

From the moment Kay had reported in, he had been on the edge. Nothing drove him harder than Kay in danger, and having to listen to how much she loved him and then hear her hurt and be unable to do ANYTHING eroded his control to almost nothing. Only Scott held him back. Scott had that power and his brother knew it. It gave him the chance to straighten himself out, to think, to plan the path to saving the woman he loved.

After that, hell would have less fury.

So it was with struggling self control Virgil shot his grappling gun up the side of the building, calculating angles, stress points, and weakness in the structure. Beside him, Scott did the same, their grapples thunking together into the brickwork.

John had Thunderbird Two and had her roaring around the other side of the building as a distraction. Virgil could hear his ‘bird’s VTOL thrum from here. Vona had a squad on the roof and, synchronised, they were all going in.

Finally Virgil could do something.

Fastening the grapple line to his exo-suit harness, he triggered the retrieval and with a yank, the line drew him up to the third floor, directly outside the room holding Em.

Scott was cold steel. The man handled himself differently than Virgil. Hardwired for command, he kept his emotions in a box sealed away. He had been known to rave on the surface, but it was shallow an echo of what he truly felt. Scott couldn’t afford to allow emotion to interfere with decisions. Virgil had tried this method, even spoken to his brother about it, but it didn’t work for him anymore than running around the island to release that tension. Scott was different. Virgil was different. They managed themselves differently.

Didn’t mean either cared any less.

And some bastard had his fingers on Em.

The fear crawling over the comline was enough to ignite Virgil. God forbid anyone get in Scott’s way.

When the signal was given and the yelling started on the other side of the building, Virgil fired up his laser and, with his feet, took out a chunk of wall.

The sight of the bastard with his hand up Em’s dress, tipped the scales and Virgil saw red.

He had the miscreant in his claw as soon as his feet hit floor. The man yelped as Virgil flung him away from his friend and slammed him into a wall. For once, he felt zero empathy for his fellow man…no, screw it, he had no relationship to this piece of dirt. He had to hold himself back from kicking him while he was down.

Em was clinging to Scott.

Now Virgil needed to get to Kay.

His heads-up display gave him the weaknesses in the wall between the two rooms. His laser took advantage of them all.

His boot took the wall down.

Two hostiles were in the room. A gun pointed in his direction and, targeting instinctively with his display, he sliced it in half with a precise beam of red. The man screamed. Another gun fired, but the bullet ricocheted off his exo-suit.

His laser took care of that firearm as well.

Kay lay crumpled on the far side of the room.

She was bleeding.

One of the men rushed at him and without thought, Virgil slammed him into a wall with his claw. He folded, out cold. The other man, not inclined to learn from his friend’s example, grabbed onto that claw.

Virgil flung him over his shoulder. The man landed with a crash and lay still.

Kay.

He hurried across the room and shed the claws from his arms. Kay lay as if she had been discarded there. Her short dress, crumpled and stained with blood, had ridden up and her legs were bare. One sandal was missing. She was bleeding from both her left arm and shoulder.

“Kay? Love?”

She didn’t stir. Scott appeared beside him. “Virgil?”

Check her pulse, breathing, bleeding, he had to stop the bleeding. He fumbled with his baldric, pulling out one of the mini med-kits he kept stashed there. Pressure bandage, gauze, alcohol, wound dressing. His hands shook with pent up everything, but he ignored them.

“Virgil?”

The door to the room flew open and a woman entered. A gun was pointed at them. He didn’t have time to deploy the laser, instead, he threw himself across Kay, protecting her with himself.

Behind him there was a crash. The woman snarled and suddenly Scott was gone from his side. A quick glance found the woman on the floor, her arm at a weird angle, out cold.

Em was in Scott’s arms.

Kay.

He had to stop the bleeding.

He knew it was one of her favourite dresses. She had so few and he loved her in every one of them. He pulled the sodden material away from her shoulder and quickly cleaned the wound before applying a dressing.

There was no exit wound.

Damn.

His fingers fumbled with the bandage.

A small delicate hand touched his. He looked up into a pair of the palest blue eyes. “Virgil, let me.”

He blinked. Em was held upright by Scott, but already she was methodically attending to his fiancee. The bandage was taken from his hand.

“Virgil, she will be okay.”

Virgil let his brother’s words wash over him. Absently, he straightened Kay’s skirt over her thighs.

His hands were still shaking.

“John, situation report.” Scott’s firm voice was an anchor point in a storm as it always was. He clung to it

Kay’s hair had come loose from its ponytail. He brushed a stray off her face.

Her eyes opened.

“Kay!”

-o-o-o-

 

She hadn’t really ever wanted to go shopping. Kayo was quite happy ordering online for the essentials, she had never been one to make a day of hunting for clothes, no matter how Grandma had tried over the years. She understood that for many it was a social occasion, but she had little interest in both the act of shopping and the need for frippery.

But now she had a female friend and she felt she needed to make an effort. Em put up with Kayo’s oddities, it couldn’t hurt for Kayo to try new things. Grandma had been highly amused when she heard about the pending trip.

As the day grew nearer, Kayo had surprised herself by finding that she was actually looking forward to it. Em was intelligent company and they had the Tracy brothers in common. Hell, at the rate things were currently going with Em and Scott, Kayo wouldn’t be surprised to one day have Em as a sister.

The thought was attractive.

And, if she was honest, it had been very nice to have another female around her own age on the island. There were things only another woman would understand, particularly the need to verbally let off steam without having a solution to her problems listed off in quintuplet.

There was a reason she tended to be close lipped about her concerns. There were things that men just didn’t understand. Even Virgil.

Em had filled a need she hadn’t known she’d had.

Consequently, the terrorist interruption to their day out had royally pissed her off, and she had no compunction about letting that steam off all over the bastards. Em had to be protected.

To wake up sprawled on the floor with a worried pair of brown eyes staring down at her just increased that fury.

“Kay!”

Her head ached. She must have hit it. Her left arm was complaining in duplicate. She found Em and Scott on her other side, cobalt and pale blue equally worried for her.

Damn it.

She made to get up.

“No, Kay, lie still, you’ve been shot.” Virgil stated the obvious.

“Let me up, Virgil.” Her tone must have reflected her anger as he shifted backwards a little.

“Kay, please.”

She ignored him.

Em held tight to her arm as she pushed herself into a sitting position. The doctor frowned at her, but didn’t say anything, just finished off bandaging her wound.

Kayo eyed the room. “Situation?”

Scott answered. “John reports that the hostages on the other side of the building have been freed and the perpetrators are in custody. The police are heading in our direction.” A breath. “Kayo-“

She shoved herself to her feet and ignored the world as it spun for a moment. The wheeze of hydraulics and a gloved hand landed on her arm, steadying her.

She stepped out of reach.

Two men and a woman lay on the floor unconscious. One had burns on his hands. Firearms lay in pieces. The wall was partly melted, a massive hole the obvious entry point. Beyond it lay another unconscious man. There were scorch marks everywhere.

Virgil.

She swallowed.

He approached her again, but they were interrupted by several police officers entering the room. More guns were waved about. Virgil stepped around and in front of her, claws once again engaged.

“Hold!”

A female officer stalked in. They eyed each other before the other woman turned to her eldest brother. Scott was holding Em in his arms.

“The building is secure. Commander Tracy. I expect a full report.” She glared at the unconscious bodies on the floor, but said nothing other than to wave a couple of officers over to attend to them. “Thank you for your assistance.”

“Thank you for yours.” Scott voice was cool and polite. Kayo wondered what had happened here. Off in the distance she could hear Thunderbird Two’s VTOL.

“Kay, you need a hospital.” His quiet baritone was worried.

She didn’t answer him. She knew she should, but she was so angry, so furious. Her head hurt, her arm and shoulder hurt. So angry.

This was supposed to be her day out.

“I want to buy a dress.”

“What?!”

“I came here to shop. I want to buy a dress.”

“You have a bullet in your shoulder. You are bleeding.”

“I don’t care. I want to buy a dress.”

So, that was how Kayo found herself perusing summer dresses while wrapped in bandages, with a bullet in her shoulder, trailing her worried fiancé kitted out in his dust covered exo-suit and uniform.

Scott protested, but there was a short, sharp discussion between the brothers, plus words from Em. The eldest glared and recovered Em’s hoverscoot. Unfortunately, her palm sensors were not to be found and that left her immobile. Em swore a blue streak over that, but Scott volunteered to carry her anywhere she would like to go. The two of them appeared to be clinging to each other in any case. Virgil grabbed the ‘scoot and hooked it to his ‘suit.

Kay wouldn’t let Virgil near her.

Not until she had herself under control. Not until...she bit her lip.

“Kay?”

His voice was so soft, so worried.

His suit wheezed as he followed her among the displays of clothes. He barely fit between the racks.

She ignored him.

Dress after dress passed before her eyes. None of them were quite what she wanted. Part of her mind spouted off comments she might have shared with Em under different circumstances. Part of her didn’t want to think at all.

The rest of her hurt.

Finally, she came to a stop in front of a lovely green dress. It was the exact shade she knew Virgil would love to see her in. She knew it was his favourite colour and she had been adding a lot of it to her wardrobe of late. It made her feel as if she was wearing something of him. They spent a lot of time apart due to International Rescue, and she had taken to adding this exact colour to her clothing, her surroundings, a touch of the man she loved wherever she was. He didn’t know it, but there were a pair of Thunderbird Two fuzzy dice stashed in Thunderbird Shadow’s cockpit. She loved the colour because it was part of him.

And the dress was perfect. The right size, the right neckline...it would leave her collarbones bare and he wouldn’t be able to resist them. It hugged at the waistline and flared into a short skirt that would leave a dash of thigh bare, perfect for his admiration.

She stared at it.

And stared at it.

“Kay?”

He was so hesitant.

She reached out to touch the fabric. It was soft and had a wonderful drape.

It slid through her fingers.

And the green material turned brown.

She let it go abruptly and the dress returned to hanging straight on the rack. But now it had brown smudges where she had picked it up. As if it was stained by her, ruined by her touch.

Looking down at her fingers, she realised they were smeared with blood. Oh god.

No.

No!

She swiped at her fingers with her other hand, desperate to get the red off her skin. “No!” Her shoulder flared in agony and she gasped.

“Kay!”

No, this wasn’t fair. She had only wanted a simple thing. A normal thing. A thing that was every day to the everyday person.

A hand touched her arm and she struck out, spinning automatically into defence. Her fist hit solid muscle and her ears received a satisfying oomph of expelled air.

But the world spun and her shoulder screamed at her, followed by her arm. She cried out, grabbing at the clothing rack in an attempt to stabilise herself, but her legs weren’t supporting her anymore.

She fell.

Strong arms caught her and held her against a solid wall of trembling muscle. “God, Kay, please.” His voice was hoarse and desperate.

She struggled, but she had no leverage and part of her knew where she was, knew she didn’t want to hurt the man she loved.

Loved.

And he loved her.

A strangled sound twisted in her gut and rose up and out. It hurt. God, it hurt. “Virgil?”

“You’re safe, love. You’re safe.”

She couldn’t answer, her throat strangled by sobs she didn’t want to let out.

“You’re safe.”

God, she loved his voice.

One gloved hand was rubbing her uninjured arm gently and she belatedly realised that he had shed his exo-suit.

His baldric was rough against her side.

But he was right, she was safe. She closed her eyes, allowing his comfort to soak in. His familiar aftershave more than reassurance.

The first tear dropped unnoticed, but more came in an inevitable tsunami of sorrow. She found herself crying into his shoulder, his uniform repelling the moisture to let it run down his chest. His arms tightened around her and he whispered incomprehensible words in her ear.

Too much. It was too much.

Kayo let go.

-o-o-o-


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Little Chaos  
> Part 5  
> Author: Gumnut  
> May 2019  
> Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS  
> Rating: Teen  
> Summary: A little conversation in less than optimal conditions.  
> Word count: 2068  
> Spoilers & warnings: Virgil/Kayo, Scott/Em.   
> Timeline: Sometime after ‘Gentle Rain’  
> Author’s note: Yeah, I should be writing ‘The Bellini Incident’, but this was supposed to be a quick fic, but then so was Bellini. This one will not be anywhere near as long and I will be back to Bellini asap. I am now laughing at this last statement as the word count for this has now passed the 10K mark ::headdesk:: Also, the prompts below? Pretty much forgotten…though I guess they may rear their heads in the next chapter or so.  
> The prompt: From a series of OC prompts. Kylorr asked for 5. Have they ever cheated on anyone before? And 7. How many partners have they had? I don’t know if I’m going to answer either of them, but this is the fic that happened. I hope you enjoy it :D  
> Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

“Virgil?”

The engineer didn’t answer. He sat staring at his hands, thoughts obviously miles away.

She was on familiar turf. They were back at Wellington Hospital, the site of so much last Christmas. This time, however, it was not Virgil, but Kayo who was being attended. That left Virgil and Scott sitting in the waiting room.

It was obvious neither did waiting very well. Scott was busy on comms with John, the Wellington police and the GDF. She had heard shouting over the line several times from his direction. Scott answered everything calm and business-like. Em had no doubt she would have to help unwind her man later. She could see the tension in his shoulders from here.

Thunderbird Two was once again parked on the hospital’s front lawn. The rest of the Tracy family was inbound, Grandma marshalling them. Even John would be dropping in as soon as they could contain the fallout from the incident.

Kayo was in no danger. She just needed the bullet removed and the wound tidied up. She would be out of surgery soon.

At the moment, Virgil was her concern.

“Virgil?” She reached out to touch his shoulder and he jumped.

“Huh?”

Scott eyed him from across the room, his brow furrowing.

“I need to check you over.”

It was Virgil’s turn to frown. “Why?”

“Kayo hit you rather hard.”

He shifted in his seat. “I’m fine.”

“Forgive me if I never believe that statement ever again.”

His eyes shot up, narrowed slightly and his lips thinned.

She shrugged. “Can you really blame me?”

He sighed, dropping his gaze once again to his hands. “Okay.”

Squeezing his shoulder, she smiled just a little. “C’mon, it will only take a moment.”

Without a word, he rose to his feet and picked up the green dress that lay on the seat beside him. Em cursed the lack of her ‘scoot, reduced to the basic hoverchair the hospital provided. Virgil was tall next to her. Scott was a bloody skyscraper.

Speaking of Scott, her boyfriend was beside them in a matter of steps. “News?”

Em reached out and caught his hand. “No, I’m just going to check out Virgil.”

“Why?” Immediate frown, immediate concern.

She arched an eyebrow up at him. “I know you know how hard a hitter Kayo can be and Virgil took a good one to his midsection today. I just need to check on him...considering his medical history.”

“Oh.” Scott swallowed and grabbed his brother’s shoulder. “Keep me informed.”

Virgil pursed his lips. “I’m fine.”

“Sure.”

The glare Virgil shot his brother was enough to light his hair on fire.

Em dragged the younger man away from her boyfriend before the argument could start. She wrestled him into an examination cubicle. “Top half of your uniform off. I’m going to grab some equipment.” A smile to soften her tone. “Be back in a moment.” She pulled the curtain and left him to disrobe.

She was caught in thought between Scott and Virgil when she approached the nursing station, but was thrown out of her thoughts at the mention of the word ‘Tracy’. Being so low in the damn hoverchair, apparently her presence hadn’t been noticed.

“...Tracy, look at those eyes. Wouldn’t you love to have them looking at you?” The voice belonged to a young nurse holding a phone talking to an equally young workmate.

Em frowned.

“Blue or brown?”

“Oh, I don’t know. They are both bloody gorgeous.”

“And both spoken for.” An older voice broke in. “Have you been taking photos? Jenny, do you want to lose your job?”

“These are worth more than my job, ‘Melda.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“So gorgeous though.”

Slipping back into the shadows, Em fingered the comms in her collar. “John?”

“Em? What’s wrong?”

John’s voice never failed to alter her heartbeat. A combination of long memory and the music it was. “Can you find a mobile phone about five metres...south-east of me, belonging to a Jenny?”

A moment. “Located. Why?”

“She has pictures of Scott and Virgil on it. She’s intending on selling them.”

The line went quiet. Ten seconds later there was a squawk from the nurses’ station. “What the hell?”

“Situation resolved.” John’s voice betrayed no smugness, but a female voice was laughing in the background. “Eos, subtlety next time.”

“She didn’t deserve subtlety.” Em’s phone pinged quietly and she pulled it out of the hoverchair’s inside pocket. The photos appeared on the screen.

The woman was right. They were worth more than her job. A photo of them entering ER. Virgil at Kayo’s side that naked love and concern on his face that had so circled the world the last time the press had hounded them, but behind them Scott was carrying her. The expression on his face spoke of his concern for Kayo, as well, but a flick over to the next photo and his head had turned to look down at Em in his arms.

Oh god.

He was different to Virgil. The two brothers were vastly different in so many ways. But the way he was looking at her...

Her heart missed a beat.

A text flicked up on her phone. _These are the only copies. Keep them safe. John._

While the nurse, metres away from her, was swearing at her phone, Em had to blink to keep the tears at bay while looking at hers.

But Virgil was waiting.

She shook herself, straightened and without a word, barged into the nurses’ station and appropriated the equipment she needed.

She took no pleasure as the nurse exclaimed to her friend that her phone was possessed, that it was posting horrible things to her social media all by itself, that it wasn’t responding, that it swore at her. She did smile, however, when she distinctly heard Eos declare through the phone’s speakers that Jenny would be assimilated and resistance was futile. The AI had obviously been in John’s Trek collection again.

The phone was dropped to the hard floor. There was a sharp crack as its screen shattered.

Oops.

The woman was still swearing as Em headed back to Virgil. She had to swallow a laugh and straighten her expression before slipping through the curtains.

Any thought of humour vanished at the sight of the emergency responder sitting on the side of the bed. His posture was slumped and worn. In the middle of his bare chest a lovely bruise about the size off his fiancée’s fist was blooming.

He straightened the moment he saw her, facade falling into place.

Em pressed her lips together just a little.

“Virgil, she is going to be okay.”

“I know.”

“You and Scott saved the both of us.”

“I know.”

She sighed. He’d put a wall up that she didn’t have the trust yet to batter down. Only Kayo or Scott could do that.

As she reached for the scanner and fiddled with the primitive hoverchair in an attempt to get it to gain at least a little height so she could examine him, he slid off the bed and crouched down to her level. “How are you?”

She blinked. “I’m fine.”

She didn’t miss the curve of his lips at her parroted response. His eyes dropped to the touchscreen she was fighting. “Let me have a look at that.” And the next minute she found herself on the bed and her bare-chested patient pulling apart the control panel of her hoverchair. A muttered expletive, a whack with a screwdriver from his kit and the ‘chair hovered smoothly to a standing height.

He straightened. “There you go. Should behave itself long enough until Gordon arrives with your backup ‘scoot.”

His offered arms were gratefully accepted and he lifted her off the bed and placed her gently in the ‘chair, assisting her with the harness.

“Virgil, I have to say that you are the first patient of mine who has ever had me as a patient in return.”

A snort and he smiled up at her. “We each have our specialties.”

She returned the smile, happy to see it. “Now let’s check under your hood.”

A pair of rolled eyes and he climbed back onto the bed. A gesture for him to lie down and he complied. She activated the bed’s holographic system and an outline of his system appeared above him. Focussed on his rib cage, her eyes tracked the healed remains of his injury on his right side, searching for any aggravation. The bruise showed up, minor sub-dermal damage obvious, but his ribcage had managed to flex without issue. His lungs were clear and healthy, heart unaffected.

A sigh of relief she hadn’t known she’d needed.

She ran some basic obs, his brown eyes tracking her actions.

“So, was I right?”

A blink. “In what way?”

“I’m fine.”

Unable to let it completely slide, Em curled her lips. “Oh, I think Kayo thinks you are pretty fine.”

He snorted and the hologram rippled. A second later his expression froze and his heartbeat increased.

She frowned. “Virgil, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Lying under examination is futile. You know that.” Not to mention that she had learnt pretty fast that the man was rather crap at it in any case.

“It is nothing.”

“It most certainly is not. What is wrong, Virgil?”

His readouts changed yet again as he...well, she could only describe it as ‘squirmed’ under her gaze.

“Virgil.”

“Em.”

She couldn’t force him to tell her anything and she didn’t want to. She shut off the scanner. “You are fine. Just take it easy.”

He sat up, but he wouldn’t look at her. Something was definitely wrong. She frowned and dropped her hand onto his knee. “You don’t have to tell me anything. Just know I’m here if you need to talk. Patient confidentiality.” She fixed him with her gaze and he smiled at her just slightly.

“Thanks, Em.”

She held his gaze just a moment longer, frowning. His eyes darted away and she knew he wouldn’t tell her in this case and she had no doubt Scott had something to do with it. An involuntary sigh.

He looked up at her. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Gentle fingers wrapped around her arm. “You’ve been through quite an experience.”

Okay, so she had her own facades. She was as bad as him. “I’m fine.”

“That talking thing is mutual, you know.”

“Thank you for saving me. Again.” It came out in all a rush.

A ghost of a smirk. “Anytime, Em, anytime. Besides, if I hadn’t, Scott would have likely killed the guy.” Virgil shuffled off the bed and started shouldering on the top half of his uniform.

She blinked, suddenly caught up in the moments before Virgil had broken through the wall and ripped the guy out of her personal space.

“Em?”

Caring brown eyes looking down at her in concern.

She put together something resembling confidence on her face.

He wasn’t fooled for a second. “You don’t have to worry. Our lawyers will put him away for a very long time.” He reached for his harness, buckling it on with practised fingers.

She shivered, remembering the slimy touch on her belly.

“Em?” And suddenly Virgil was too close. She flung herself backwards, the unfamiliar hoverchair colliding with her tray of instruments, sending several of them clattering to the floor.

His eyes widened in realisation...and horror. “Oh god, I’m so sorry, Em. Hell.” He stumbled backwards, catching the curtain of the cubicle and almost tangling himself in it.

Her hand shot up. “No! No, Virgil, no. It’s fine. I’m sorry. I know. I KNOW. You would never hurt me.” She flung the chair forward, grabbing his arm in desperation. “I’m sorry. Please come here.”

Both fear and anger flickered through those chocolate eyes and god she wished Kayo was with them. The man was massive, his sheer muscular bulk could be considered intimidating, but he had never intimidated her. And he wasn’t intimidating her now. It was just... raw memories.

Virgil’s hands flexed into fists and he refused to move closer. “I’m so sorry, Em. I should have known better. What that asshole said to you...” His knuckles went white.

She forced a grim smile. “Well, as you said, he is going away for a very long while.” A blink and a frown. “How do you know what he said to me?”

He froze, his eyes widening.

“Virgil?”

-o-o-o-


End file.
